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Pelosi: the national guard must stay as long as necessary
House President Nancy Pelosi says National Guard troops protecting the Capitol must stay as long as necessary amid a new threat of another mob attack. (March 4)
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The claim: Pelosi’s alcohol bill on her flights is $ 52,000 a year and is covered by taxpayers’ money
An allegation made by Chuck Woolery by the show host in 2017 regarding house speaker Nancy Pelosi, and her alleged spending on alcohol during flights, surfaced again in a viral Facebook post on March 9th.
“Nancy Pelosi’s bill for alcohol on her flights every week from Washington to San Fran? We pay for it,” reads the report, accompanied by an image of Pelosi, D-California. “$ 1,000. Average $ 52,000 a year for liquor. Taxpayers’ money. Thank you very much.”
“Do not be of our penny, actually our many dollars!” the user has a caption of the post, which has more than 800 shares.
The meme attributes the information to Woolery, who originally shared the claim on January 17, 2019. tweet it has over 17,000 retweets and 28,000 preferences. Woolery has also previously promoted false allegations about the coronavirus pandemic.
Another user shared a similar version of the claim on February 25 with the text reading: “Well, that’s comforting, because we know it’s our third order. Coming soon second, but just a mean drunk in reality . ”
The Facebook users and Woolery did not return USA TODAY’s request for comment.
Fact check: Pelosi does not oversee US Capitol security
Pelosi does not drink alcohol
There is no evidence to support the claim that Pelosi spends $ 52,000 a year on alcohol and that it is covered by taxpayers’ money. Pelosi deputy chief of staff Drew Hamill confirmed to the U.S. earlier today that the House speaker did not drink alcohol.
It is also false to claim that Pelosi travels to her home country of California by military plane every weekend. In March 2020, Hamill told PolitiFact that from 2007 to 2011, Pelosi had access to a 12-seat Gulfstream jet, but thereafter began flying regularly commercially.
In July 2019, she was seen as a commercial fly on a crowded Delta flight sitting in a trainer image captured by CNN correspondent for national affairs, Jeff Zeleny.
Pelosi has long been the target of misinformation in the form of altered images, repeatedly hacked down by fact-checking organizations designed to make her look drunk.
Fact check: False allegation that Pelosi travels weekly on a 200-seat Boeing plane
Where does the number come from?
When a Woolery spokesman was asked in 2019 for evidence of the allegation that Pelosi spent $ 52,000 a year on alcohol while flying, he handed over a set of documents obtained by Judicial Watch through the Freedom of Information Act PolitiFact provided. government watchdog.
Judicial Watch wrote in a 2010 press release that findings show that Pelosi’s military trip cost the U.S. Air Force a little over $ 2 million over a two-year period and that $ 101,429.14 is responsible for expenses, including food. an alcohol.
However, according to Factcheck.org, the figure includes expenses other than food and drink, though congressional delegations regularly show receipts for expensive alcohol brands such as Gray Goose and Bombay Sapphire.
Factcheck.org reported in 2010 that Judicial Watch counts ‘flight expenses’ as any non-refundable air force expenses other than transportation costs, which include all non-aircraft related costs, such as baggage fees, meeting room rentals, refreshments, accommodation in US territory, and ground transportation.
Fact check: Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez’s net worth is not nearly $ 1 million
Our rating: false
The claim that Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s bill for alcohol on her weekly flights from California to Washington costs $ 52,000 a year and is covered by taxpayers is FALSE, based on our research. Pelosi’s deputy chief of staff had earlier confirmed that she did not drink alcohol, claiming she had been repeatedly exposed. The claim stems from a report by Judicial Watch that included costs not related to the aircraft as part of ‘expenses during the flight’. Pelosi also no longer flies privately and is seen in public as commercial.
Our sources for fact checking:
- USA TODAY, October 12, 2020, “Fact check: False allegation that Pelosi drank with Obama in 2016”
- USA TODAY, October 20, 2020, “Fact Check: 2016 Image of Nancy Pelosi Leaving a Store Written Wrong”
- USA TODAY, August 11, 2020, “Fact check: video by speaker Nancy Pelosi, edited, selectively edited”
- Reuters, 8 September 2020, “Fact check: Allegation that Pelosi was removed from the house due to ‘drunk and disorderly conduct’ is satire”
- PolitiFact, 12 June 2020, “No, Nancy Pelosi does not claim to fly a 200-seat Boeing 757 aircraft with taxpayers’ money”
- Jeff Zeleny, July 22, 2019, tweet
- Judicial Watch via GlobeNewswire, January 28, 2010, “Judicial Watch Unveils New Documents Explaining Pelosi’s Use of Air Force Aircraft”
- Factcheck.org, March 4, 2010, “Pelosi’s Party Plane?”
- PolitiFact, January 22, 2019, “Allegation of Nancy Pelosi Bar Page Unfounded”
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Our fact-checking work is supported in part by an award from Facebook.